UCLA Football Recruiting: 2015 Offensive Big Board (UPDATED)

Dec 31, 2013; El Paso, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) throws a pass during the third quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2013 Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

With the summer camping season winding down for recruits and fall camp a month away for UCLA, this seems like as good a time as any to take a look at where things stand for UCLA football recruiting with the 2015 class. Today, we’re releasing the Big Board for offense, with the Defensive Big Board coming out early next week.

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UCLA is clearly off to a fantastic start with the 2015 offensive recruiting class. The feather in the cap of this class, of course, is the consensus #1 QB in the country, Josh Rosen out of St. John Bosco HS in Bellflower. We’ll be writing more about him and his future at UCLA shortly, so we won’t spoil too much of that right now. It’s fair to say, though, that UCLA hasn’t recruited a quarterback with Rosen’s potential ceiling since Troy Aikman. You might have heard of him.

UCLA seems set at running back with the commitments of “Thunder and Lightning“, as they’ve taken to calling themselves, Bolu Olorunfunmi (Clovis, CA/Clovis North) and TJ Simmons (Lakeland, FL/Lakeland Christian). However, should either of Soso Jamabo (Plano, TX/Plano East) or Dominic Davis (Mission Hills, CA/Alemany) want to commit to UCLA, each could be accommodated as neither is considered to be a pure running back. Instead, they’re thought to be more like hybrid, F-back types who are weapons with the ball in their hands, whether that’s from catching passes or taking handoffs. Jamabo, as a 6’3″, 210-lb running back who plays and moves like a player 6 inches shorter, is a player who really defies comparison, but Davis seems comparable to a super-fast version of current UCLA F-back Jalen Ortiz.

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At receiver, UCLA is aiming for a dream class of LJ Reed (Elk Grove, CA/Consumnes Oaks), Stephen Johnson III (San Leandro, CA/San Leandro), Cordell Broadus (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman), and Ryan Newsome (Aledo, TX/Aledo). Considering that the first two are UCLA commits and the latter two could very reasonably be termed UCLA leans, the dream WR class might very well become a reality for UCLA wide receivers coach Eric Yarber come Signing Day in February. And this would be a receiver recruiting haul up there with any in the country, as it would have speedy, shifty, home run-hitting playmakers in Newsome and Johnson; and big, possession-type receivers (Reed and Broadus) who can use their physicality and wide catch radiuses to make plays.

We would be remiss if we did not mention the young stalwart who gave UCLA its first 2015 commitment all the way back in November: tight end — and diehard Bruins fan — Aliz’e Jones (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman). Jones, the top rated tight end recruit in the country, has been a dream recruit for UCLA in regards to how low-maintenance he’s been and he is tied with Rosen as the most rock-solid pledge in the current group of commits. The way Jones makes it sound in media interviews and social media interactions, Heaven and Earth would literally have to collapse in order for him to begin to consider opening up the mail other schools send him, much less think about visiting or committing to another school besides UCLA. Jones is a freakish athlete at the tight end position who, no disrespect to Thomas Duarte or Joseph Fauria intended, will give UCLA the type of athletic weapon it hasn’t had at the position since Marcedes Lewis.

And finally, the offensive line group that UCLA looks poised to bring in for the 2015 class could rival the banner 2013 crop for numbers and quality. In addition to 4-star guard Tevita Halalilo (Moreno Valley, CA/Rancho Verde) and recent 4-star commits Andre James (Herriman, UT/Herriman) and Fred Ulu-Perry (Honolulu, HI/St. Louis), UCLA’s offensive line guru and recruiter par excellence Adrian Klemm has the Bruins in a strong position to land two other acclaimed recruits in 4-star guard Josh Wariboko (Oklahoma City, OK/Casady) and 3-star tackle Dru Samia (Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley). Should any of those recruitments fall through, Klemm also has very worthy contingency plans lined up, like Semisi Uluave (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) and Zach Robertson (Bellflower, CA/St. John Bosco).

It’s safe to say that UCLA’s 2015 recruiting efforts are looking very good on the offensive side of the ball to date and that the Bruins are well positioned to be incredibly happy with their haul on Signing Day next February.